Pyramid Peak — 3760 m
Ascent via the northern counterfort — Cat. 3B difficulty
Description of the ascent route to the summit
The path from the camp to the bivouac — see the description of the Cat. 4A route.
From the bivouac, across the Pyramid Glacier plateau to the snowy slopes of the large couloir to the right of the northern counterfort. Ascend the 150 m snowy slope to the bergschrund. Cross the bergschrund via a bridge (Belay!) and continue on snow to the base of the counterfort. The snowy slope, initially at 20°, steepens to 45–50° beyond the bergschrund (Belay!). Traverse to the right along the boundary between snow and rock, bypassing the base of the counterfort, and ascend the snowy slope of the couloir, along the rocks, to a large grey wall. Approximately 100 m from the bergschrund. Under the wall, inclined rock ledges lead to the start of a 15-meter inclined grey slab beneath overhanging reddish rocks. From the bivouac, 2 hours. From the slab, a steep rocky gully descends to the left. Cross the slab from right to left via its middle section (Pitons! Careful belay!) to reach a short ledge. Traverse left along the ledge, around the corner, and ascend steep 80-meter rock faces (up to 70°) to a horizontal ledge. From there, ascend a wall to a rock pocket, and then another short wall to the ridge (Belay! Pitons!). From here, ascend leftwards along the rocky ridge for 100 m to a gendarme — "belka". From the slab, 4.5–5 hours. 15–20 m before reaching it, traverse right along severely (!) damaged rocks (Belay!) and ledges (Pitons!) to a 90 m scree-filled couloir. Ascend the couloir (Belay! Pitons!) for 60 m, then traverse right for 10 m and continue upwards to grey-colored rocks (Pitons!). Leave these rocks to the right and ascend stepped rocks on the ridge to reach the summit. From the "belka" gendarme, 5 hours. Descend from the summit into a yellow depression, then traverse left 80–100 m to a large horizontal slab. From there, descend along a snowy slope and scree to a snowy ridge that encircles a lake, and continue to the end of the lower wide ledge. Traverse along it to the col between Ak-Bashi and Pyramid. Descend from the col onto the Pyramid Glacier plateau to the bivouac.
Descent from the summit to the bivouac — 3–3.5 hours.
Number of participants in the group — 4 people. Initial bivouac — on the Pyramid Glacier. Equipment for a group of 4:
- ropes — 2 × 40 m
- expendable cordelette — 5 m
- rock pitons — 12 pcs
- ice pitons — 2 pcs
- carabiners — 10 pcs
- hammers — 2 pcs
Elevation gain — approximately 500 m. From camp to camp — 2 days. Number of pitons used — 26 pcs. Group leader — Zakharov P.P.; participants — instructor Bondarsky V.V. — 1st cat.; Sedov, Glaziev — 2nd cat., Korenev — 3rd cat.
Note! For repeated ascents, the number of pitons required will not exceed 7–9 pcs.
